PERFORMANCE SYSTEM DESIGN

When we seek to establish, improve, or support a particular type of performance on the job, taking a systemic approach will almost always yield better results. The term "performance system design" simply refers to the design and coordination of all those conditions and factors (behavior influences) that establish and support the behavior required to produce desired results.

We encourage leaders, managers and performance professionals to take a look at systems of behavior influences when they seek to manage or improve performance rather than focusing on one or more behavior influences in isolation from others (e.g., compensation, training, or feedback).

Performance system design could be viewed as the quintessential application of Six Boxes Performance Thinking, and is almost always a component of any other application. Performance systems design involves every step in the Performance Improvement Logic, from using the Performance Chain to analyze and target work outputs linked to business results, to identifying the behavior for producing those outputs, using the Six Boxes Model to investigate all relevant behavior influences, and arranging or designing the most cost-effective combination of behavior influences to produce the desired impact.

The results of performance system design are cost-effective performance improvement and accelerated business results. Taking a systems approach to improving performance is virtually guaranteed to improve return on investments that organizations make in people.